Country Fire Service wants Wangary bushfire legal claims struck out

The Country Fire Service (CFS) had no practical capacity to control deadly Eyre Peninsula bushfire in South Australia in 2005 so could not be sued, a court has heard.

Nine people died, 93 houses were destroyed and about 80,000 hectares of land were blackened in the Wangary outbreak.

Grazier Robert Proude initiated legal action in the SA Supreme Court against the CFS and the man whose car was found to have started the blaze, Marco Visic.

Mr Proude said he lost more than 2,000 sheep and suffered extensive property damage, put at more than $1.8 million.

He claimed the CFS fire response was inadequate.

Mr Visic launched a separate legal claim against the CFS, also citing an inadequate response and seeking the emergency organisation meet his legal bills if he lost the claim against him.

Dick Whitington QC, acting for the CFS, told the Supreme Court the claims had no prospect of success at trial and should be struck out.

"This is a plain case where the CFS had no practical capacity to control this sort of risk," he said.

"The CFS could have stayed home during the Wangary bushfires or the state could have never established the CFS. The fire would have still spread in the way that it did. The CFS had no practical capacity to control the fire."

Three days have been set aside for argument before Justice Malcolm Blue.